Friedman’s Failures & the Lizard Brain

September 14, 2022

If you ain’t failing… you ain’t trying! Well, Andrew Friedman has failed a lot! It all started with Brett Anderson, Scott Kazmir, and Brandon McCarthy. Maybe they weren’t an absolute failure – maybe they were a “bridge,” but most people view it as a failure. He tried… Good on Andrew. Seth Godin (one of my favorite writers) writes about the “Lizard Brain. Some people call it the “resistance.” Seth Godin…

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Lost Among the Stars

September 13, 2022

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has given us a keyhole view towards the heart of our Milky Way Galaxy, where a dazzling array of stars reside. Most of the view of our galaxy is obscured by dust. Hubble peered into the Sagittarius Star Cloud, a narrow, dust-free region, providing this spectacular glimpse of a treasure chest full of stars. Some of these gems are among the oldest inhabitants of our…

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Things That Make You Go “What?”

September 12, 2022

The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes finished the year 68-64 and will miss the playoffs for the first time (not due to COVID-19) since 2014. Scott Hennessey could be in trouble as the manager. The Great Lakes Loon’s season finale was rained out and will not be made up. They finished the season 75-55. On Thursday, they start the playoffs against Lake County in Eastlake, Ohio. If they end up playing Ft….

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Nothing is so Constant as Change… Except in Baseball!

September 11, 2022

I was listening to a conversation a couple of days ago where Person A was arguing that it was “crazy that baseball was making all these changes. The game is just fine – Don’t go changing everything!” Person B had a different take, “Other than the DH and lowering the mound, baseball is the last sport that has changed, and it’s way past time!” What was most interesting about this…

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Nap Rucker: Dead Ball Era Lefty

September 10, 2022

If you go to the Dodgers baseball reference page, you will see photos of the top 24 Dodger players, according to WAR. Of those 24, nine played only in LA, and six played in Brooklyn and LA. The rest played exclusively in Brooklyn. Number 12 on the list with a career WAR of 47.2 is George Napoleon Rucker. Better known as Nat. For ten seasons, he was one of the…

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Ron Cey: Portrait of a Penguin

September 9, 2022

What comes to mind when you think about Ron Cey? To me, it is his trot around the bases after he hit a homer and his solid play as one of the anchors of ” The Infield.” Cey was born on the 15th of February 1948 in Tacoma, Washington. He was a multi-sport athlete at Mount Tacoma High School. He was the first athlete to receive nine varsity letters. Upon…

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What are the “Chance’s?”

September 8, 2022

Back in 1999, the Dodger organization used to have these various contests for fans during a celebratory home stand that they called “Think Blue Week.” They had a series of essay contests to win various prizes.  The prizes included being able to take batting practice in the Stadium and raking the infield with the grounds crew during an inning of the game.  You could even be the P.A. announcer for…

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What About Next Year?

September 6, 2022

I had already started this blog post when Whistling Ranger (welcome to LADT) posted this: “I look for the Dodgers to concentrate on roster management in the offseason. There is extreme competition for the 40-man roster.  Look for them to trade older players for younger, promising players that they don’t have to protect. If they don’t, they will lose some through the rule 5 draft or have to DFA them.”…

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Bullpen Makeup in the Championship Years

September 5, 2022

I thought it would be interesting and appropriate to look at the Dodger bullpens in the seasons they won the World Series. This is simply because so much of what I have read lately on our site pertains to the makeup for the post-season of our relief staff. For the record, the 1955 team used 15 pitchers during the season. Five were primarily starters, Newcombe, Erskine, Podres, Meyer, and Loes….

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Wake Me Up When September Ends

September 4, 2022

There’s not a lot to play for right about now… except pride, and hopefully, the Dodgers have learned that trying to win the division or having the best record is not the path to a World Championship. The Dodgers are resting players and peppering the IL with pitchers so as to have them rested come October, so wake me up when September ends. There’s nothing to see here, folks; move…

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